An Unexpected Romance
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: "Yeah, I know. Me too. But what about us? What about our happiness? We sure as heck ain't gonna find it just by sitting back and watching them!" Again she took a step closer, until Blake was backed against the shelf and could feel her breath.


**A commission for alexander-the-amazing! They asked for a rare pair I've never written before, and I had a lot of fun trying out the ideas they gave me! I know this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're willing to try new things, then enjoy this pair!**

 **This is also the first fic where I've written so many characters together, even if the focus is only on two of them.**

 **It's also gonna be a Normal Life AU!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

An Unexpected Romance

Blake couldn't remember the last time she'd gone out for herself.

It seemed no matter what she was doing or where she was going, it was all only as a tag-along with the rest of her companions.

She'd known Ruby and Yang the longest, and had been there at the blonde girl's hospital bedside after a car accident had cost her her right arm. That had been several years ago, and now she was happily and fully functioning with a prosthetic.

A little before the time of the accident, Yang had introduced Blake to a girl named Weiss, someone she'd thought was just a friend Yang had made at work or in school.

But after the accident, it became very evident to Blake that Weiss was more than just a friend to Yang.

Blake had seen the way Weiss had held Yang's left hand all the while as she waited at her bedside, clinging to her more tightly than even Ruby had. Then, on the day Yang had been discharged, Weiss had thrown her arms around her and kissed her full on the lips in her glee, officially revealing the romantic affections most people had already been suspecting.

They'd been together ever since.

Blake always did her best to be happy for them, because seeing them together always smiling and laughing (when they weren't lightly bickering) always made her heart feel warm.

For a long while, Blake had been eager to tag along with them and Ruby whenever they all managed to get a free weekend off to head to the mall, or a weekday evening where they could go out to eat together.

Not long after Weiss and Yang had become an item, Ruby had revealed a secret of her own.

One day, she'd brought a girlfriend of her own to the table.

She was a peppy, peculiar girl with orange hair by the name of Penny. Ruby had revealed to the rest of them how she'd met Penny at school during her first semester of college, and the two of them had hit it off as friends right away. Somewhere along the lines, they'd timidly tempted to dare to be something more.

Yang, Weiss, and Blake congratulated them both, as their quartet became a group of five.

Following years had seen that group expanding even further.

Yang was a very charismatic girl at school, and naturally she made a lot of friends. On an evening when Blake had assumed it would just be the five of them, Yang ended up bringing four more people.

There was a tall, gorgeous girl with crimson hair by the name of Pyrrha, whom Yang introduced as her "best work-out bud." And on Pyrrha's arm was a bit of a klutzy blond boy named Jaune.

At first glance, most people thought Pyrrha could do better than someone with his appearance and mannerisms, but she always made it perfectly clear that she was very happy with him, and would never accept any rudeness towards him.

Blake thought they were kind of cute together, in their own way.

All of her friends were.

Jaune and Pyrrha were a good clash of characters, Ruby and Penny were both bubbly, innocent, carefree girls, and Weiss and Yang contrasted like ice and fire, so well that they were inseparable and unable to exist without each other.

Blake wondered if she'd ever find her other half as well.

Along with Pyrrha and Jaune, Yang introduced them to a quiet boy named Ren, who also had a girl beside him. Nora was her name, and she seemed to be as energetic as Ruby, if not more so - another perfect, outgoing contrast to her more subdued partner. Nora was very excitable and energetic, perhaps a little exaggerated, but always wore a smile on her face.

Blake found it difficult to so much as chuckle at any of the jokes told at dinner that evening. She spent the night being the odd one out.

Which was fine. She was used to it, after being around Ruby, Penny, Weiss, and Yang for so long.

But adding _two_ more successful couples to the mix was a little disheartening.

It made her happy to have made so many good friends and to see that they were all content with their respective partners. But it also made her wonder...

 _When is it my turn? Or... will it_ ever _be my turn...?_

She wasn't as good at making friends at school as Yang was, and she wasn't nearly as charming as Ruby or as bold as Weiss. She didn't have a good personality like Pyrrha, and she didn't have any dumb luck like Jaune.

So... what _did_ she have?

. . .

The group of nine gradually became close-knit friends and partners, going out mainly on weekends, either to restaurants, or sometimes to study sessions.

In the past, back when it had just been the sisters, Weiss, and Penny with her, Blake had never really resented them for their successes. If anything, she resented _herself_ for not trying to find anyone who could make her happy.

But now with Pyrrha's group added to the mix, it just seemed like everyone around her was finding love while she herself was being conveniently left out.

She'd gone from being the third wheel with Yang and Weiss, to the fifth wheel when Ruby and Penny came in, and now she was all the way up to being the _ninth_ wheel.

Blake had never heard of something so pitiful before, to be someone seeking a partner, but so unable to find or charm one that she'd been dormant long enough for literally _everyone_ else around her to find happiness first.

She was tired of being in last place. She knew this wasn't a competition, but she couldn't help wanting to catch up to the others.

Therefore, one night, after an evening out together with all of them, Blake returned home and curled herself up on her bed.

She made a vow to herself that starting tomorrow, she would seek out someone for herself, someone who could make her smile just as much as all of her friends did.

* * *

The next day was a Saturday, and they had all made arrangements to visit the local library to study for upcoming exams.

Most of them attended the same college as Yang and Pyrrha, aside from Weiss who was going to a more prestigious business school one town over in Atlas, and Ruby and Penny who were still younger, and therefore in the Community College of Vale. The rest of them attended Vacuo University.

But all of them had midterm exams coming up the following week, so they'd all decided to get together for a day of studying.

As soon as she walked through the doors, she found all of her friends had already arrived. Blake had been the only one to walk here by herself, while the others had come in pairs.

The eight of them were seated at a large study table, spaced out in their respective pairs.

Weiss was quietly scolding Yang to pay attention to the material and simultaneously trying to keep Ruby and Penny focused on their work.

Pyrrha was politely and slowly explaining a few things to Jaune, while Ren was helping Nora.

And then there was one lonely chair at the end of the table, meant for her.

Blake should've been expecting this. She sort of _had_ been.

But it still sent an unpleasant feeling through her chest.

She was jealous. She'd admitted that to herself time and again, and she _hated_ feeling that way about her companions' happiness.

She was considering just turning back around and leaving, but Yang spotted her and waved her over before she could.

"Blake! You're here!"

"It's about time," Weiss added. "We were getting worried."

The others all looked up, smiled, and greeted her. It made Blake feel even more awful for resenting them, because they were all such good people, such wonderful friends to her...

She crossed the room and took her seat, greeting them all in turn. She couldn't feel upset for a second longer though, not when they all started to remind her just how much they cared for her.

"Blake?" Pyrrha smiled. "Would you be a dear and help me teach Jaune this part?"

"Sorry," Weiss rolled her eyes. "But I think Yang needs more help."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you can't _focus_ for longer than thirty seconds before you get distracted by something else!"

As they went on bickering, Ruby leaned over to tap Blake's shoulder.

"Hey, Blake? Maybe once you get a chance, we can read some fairytales together? Penny's never read Pinocchio before!"

"But Ruby has told me _all_ about it! It sounds _very_ interesting!"

Blake realized that all of them were now looking at her, some expectant, some desperate. She started to laugh.

"Okay, okay. One at a time."

She stood and made her rounds, first helping Jaune, then Yang, and then sitting with Ruby and Penny to read Pinocchio, because they'd said they were already finished studying.

Once the others had all been tended to, Blake took her seat again.

She couldn't help but look up to the two people she hadn't seen specifically.

Ren was reading quietly on his own, occasionally nudging Nora who looked as though she were about to fall asleep. Blake didn't know why she felt her eyes lingering on the hyperactive girl for an extra minute, but she soon was caught staring by Nora herself.

"Oh! Blake!" she said. " _Perfect!_ Now you can help me out!"

Blake paused for a minute. She and Nora had barely spoken since they'd all met. They were certainly the two with the least interaction out of all the people in their group.

Blake believed she'd spoken more with the taciturn Ren, as they often ended up reading together.

But Nora?

"Um, sure."

Nonetheless, Blake made a move to stand up. But Nora quickly waved for her to stay put.

"Nah, you sit tight! I'll come over there!"

Blake blinked. Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting between Nora and herself, so Blake assumed Nora would simply ask them both to move over a seat and Nora would take Pyrrha's previous seat closest to Blake.

Of course, she should've known better.

Instead of doing the sensible thing and asking them to move, Nora instead stood and lifted her own chair high up above her head, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the library.

"Comin' through!"

Weiss and Pyrrha let out horrified gasps, fearing she might drop the chair or trip. Ruby, Penny, and Yang were quietly cheering her on, while Ren wasn't even surprised and didn't so much as lift his head. Blake found her own reaction to be closest to Jaune's, her mouth agape in utter shock.

Nora hummed merrily as she shuffled her way around the table, holding her chair above her head as though it where something as small and light as a single book.

By some miracle, she managed to get next to Blake, then dropped her chair beside her, making the dark-haired girl jolt.

"There we go!" Nora declared. "Okie-doki! Now I'm ready!"

Now that the others had ensured she'd made it through the endeavor safely, they all let out their breaths and returned to studying.

Blake, on the other hand, needed to shake herself out of her trance.

"O-Oh, um... Right. So then... what did you need?"

Nora clapped her hands together, her teal eyes narrowed and a grin on her lips. She seemed very excited about whatever she was going to reveal, but at the last second, she suddenly stopped herself.

"No, no! Can't tell you yet! We've gotta go somewhere else!"

"Huh? But you just brought your chair-"

"Come with me!" Without waiting, Nora grabbed Blake's wrist and stood, leaving the dark-haired girl with no choice but to follow. "Be right back!" she called to the rest of them. "I just gotta borrow her for a tiiiiiny little second!"

The others watched curiously as Nora suddenly dragged Blake off before anyone could ask questions.

Blake found herself stumbling behind the eager girl, still dumbfounded at the sudden change in the situation. She was still thinking how useless Nora's act of lifting up her chair and risking dropping it on someone's head had been, and all for the sake of sitting next to Blake for 3 seconds and then vacating said seat.

This girl was too much.

Blake was led like a rag doll across the library by the rather strong ginger-haired girl. Everything had happened so quickly, she hadn't even had the chance to protest.

By the time her mind had registered everything, Nora had brought her to a halt somewhere in the middle of the bookshelves. Blake froze stiffly behind her.

"Nora...? What's all this about? Why did you-"

She cut off suddenly when Nora whipped around, startling the more reserved girl. She kept a firm hold on Blake's wrists to ensure she couldn't run away, then moved a step closer.

"Blake, ya've gotta help me, ya've just _gotta!_ "

Flustered, Blake tried to take a step back, but bumped into a shelf.

"I-I will! I mean I'll try! Just tell me what it is!"

She'd expected something like "help me pass my math midterm!" or "help me focus on my reading!" or "help me find the meaning of life!"

She'd expected something crazy, something a little out-there, something Nora-like.

But she'd never in a million years expected the two words Nora blurted out to her then:

"Date me!"

Silence.

Blake... must have been hearing things.

Was she dreaming? Was she actually still back at the table and just spacing out in such a weird daydream?

But as she stared blankly back at the girl in front of her, feeling her mouth drop open, Blake realized this wasn't a dream.

Fumbling to recall how to speak, she swallowed, her hands still trapped in Nora's.

"U-Um... sorry? I think I misheard you or something."

"No you didn't! Date me, Blake Belladonna!"

"What?" There was no doubt she'd heard correctly that time. Blake shook her head, puzzled. "Wh-Why would you want that? What about Ren?"

At that, Nora looked truly puzzled.

"Ren? We're not _dating_ , silly! He's not the type for dating. We're just friends! Have been since forever, but we're not _together_ -together! Duuuh, that's why I'm asking _you!_ "

Blake was so surprised by that revelation that she took the time to address it, pushing the more major case of the sudden confession back for a moment.

"Really? I'd always thought you two were a thing."

Nora sighed and shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah. Most people do. But we're not, got it? He's not into that. So Blake, ya've gotta date me, c'mon I'm beggin' here, woman!"

Blake still had no idea how to react to this other than stammering out fragments.

"B-But... but why me? And so suddenly... I don't understand..."

Nora still had a grip on Blake's hand, but she loosened it a little bit as her shoulders slouched in a sigh.

"All right, well if I gotta spell it out for you..." She took a step closer, lifting her free hand to the corner of her mouth as she dropped her voice into a whisper. "I've seen the way you've been all dreary and sad around the rest of 'em. And I dunno, maybe I don't show it as well as you do, but I feel the same way, ya get me? Aren't you sick and tired of all the rest of them always being so lovey-dovey while we're the only ones suffering?"

Blake couldn't believe what she was hearing.

There was someone else who was feeling _exactly_ what she was feeling.

But still, she didn't like how Nora had called her out on being so bitter.

"Well... but I'm happy for all of them..."

Nora nodded.

"Yeah, I know. Me too. But what about _us?_ What about _our_ happiness? We sure as heck ain't gonna find it just by sitting back and watching _them!_ " Again she took a step closer, until Blake was backed against the shelf and could feel her breath. "That's why we should date, Blake! Like _pretend-_ date, I mean! Wouldn't it surprise those guys to find out that we hooked up? Then we can join them in all their fun stuff they do and not feel like total losers when we get left out!"

Blake winced. She'd never really thought of it in such harsh terms, but now that Nora was saying it, it seemed to make painful sense. Nora pressed on.

"We shouldn't sit around anymore just waiting while everyone else is having a grand ol' time! So let's pretend to date! Whaddaya say?"

Once Blake realized Nora wasn't truthfully asking her out, the bit of flattery she'd been feeling faded away. But it left behind a strange determination, one that pushed away all the other moral uncertainties of engaging in a fake relationship simply for the sake of spiting her friends' successes.

 _No. It wouldn't be out of spite_ , she promised herself. _It would just be so Nora and I can have a bit of fun for ourselves. We deserve that much, right?_

Such justifying thoughts were what caused Blake to take in a deep breath and step away from the bookshelf. Nora moved back a bit too, eagerly awaiting her reply. Blake met her eyes and shrugged.

"All right."

She watched Nora's jaw drop.

"What? Really? You _mean_ it?"

"Yeah. Why not, right? We might as well. I've sure got nothing to lose."

Nora's countenance brightened.

"Yeah! Me neither! Let's go all out and show 'em how we roll!"

Blake felt a small bout of laughter run through her at Nora's enthusiasm to begin. But another thought soon presented itself to her.

"But... how exactly will we tell the others... about... _us?_ "

"Oohh, don't you worry that pretty little head of yours, Blake! _I'll_ take care of that! Starting tomorrow, I'll let 'em know! From then on, we'll watch the shock in their eyes as we finally join the group as the last couple-pair!"

Blake couldn't help but chuckle again.

"All right. Let's do it."

Looking back, it sounded like the most absurd thing in the world, to pretend to be dating a friend simply so they could experience what it was like to be a couple.

Yes, it was ridiculous and had many potential risks of falling through.

But right now, with Nora's hands still squeezing hers, Blake decided she'd give it a shot.

* * *

The next day, the group of nine had plans to go out to dinner together.

Blake was expecting that Nora would find her in privacy beforehand and latch their arms together before having them make a grand entrance hand-in-hand to reveal their new 'relationship.'

But as it turns out, the cat was out of the bag long before suppertime.

While sitting in her room reading at her leisure, Blake received a sudden influx of text messages.

At first, she'd assumed it was another ten-part chain mail from Ruby declaring she'd need to forward some fairytale story to twenty other people or else she'd have bad luck for the rest of the month.

But as Blake opened her phone, she discovered messages from not only Ruby, but just about all of her friends. They all contained similar content:

 _ **Blake! I heard about you and Nora! Congrats!**_

 _ **Are you and Nora really together now? That's great! I'm so happy for you!**_

 _ **Wow! I can't believe you fell for Valkyrie. Guess she won your heart, huh? Good for you!**_

Blake blushed a little harder at each one she read.

The last one was one from Nora herself explaining everything:

 _ **Hi, Blake! So I spilled the beans to Ren last night and he said 'I'm happy for you' and of COURSE Jaune and Pyrrha were nearby and overheard so Pyrrha started getting all excited and she texted Yang like ASAP and so I think the word is out! So hello, new (pretend) gf!**_

Blake could hardly believe her eyes. They were really going to go through with this.

A sudden wave of uncertainty rose up in her stomach, but she fought it back down. She'd already come this far. She was going to commit to this little hoax as best she could.

So she replied to all of her friends' text messages with words of thanks and appreciation, then gave her last response to Nora:

 _ **I can't believe we're really doing this, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be I guess.**_

. . .

That evening, the group went out for dinner as planned.

Of course, Blake was first met by Yang, Weiss, Ruby and Penny outside the restaurant. While Weiss gave a small wave to her and Ruby and Penny chittered excitedly, Yang hurried over to her best friend and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for yoooou!"

Blake returned the embrace more gently.

"Thanks, Yang."

"But I'm curious," the blonde said, stepping away. "You didn't go pick her up and drive here together?"

Blake realized Yang was right; she wasn't acting very much like someone who'd just started a relationship. But she thought quickly and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Ren's driving her tonight. But I'm gonna pick her up next time."

"Ren, huh? Well that makes sense. Those two have always been two peas in a pod. But now you'll have to nudge him over a bit, huh?"

"Yeah..."

As Blake followed her back to where the others were waiting, she swallowed hard.

This... might turn out to be more complicated than she'd thought.

A few minutes later, a couple more cars entered the restaurant parking lot. Jaune and Pyrrha emerged from one, and Ren and Nora the other.

While Blake may not have been playing the part of a smitten girl newly in love, Nora sure had it covered.

The second her feet were on solid ground, she was tearing off across the concrete waving excitedly.

"Blaaaaaake~!"

It took the dark-haired girl a moment to register what was happening. She had to hurriedly open her arms at the last second as Nora neared, then plowed into her with a crushing embrace.

"I'm heeeere~! Did ya miss me, Blake?"

Blake staggered back a few paces from the impact, wheezing out a breath as Nora all but squeezed the air from her lungs.

"Y-Yeah... of course..." Blake grimaced and laid her shaking arms around Nora's back. "G-Glad you're here..."

While their little display might have seemed sloppy to Blake, the others all seemed to believe it. Pyrrha offered more gleeful words of congratulations which the rest of them eventually joined in with.

At last, Nora released Blake, who needed to gasp for breath for a moment afterward. As the others began gabbing and walking inside the restaurant, Blake grabbed Nora's wrist and kept her back a second.

"All right, while that was believable, you've _got_ to take it easy. _Please_."

"Whoopsie~ Sorry!"

Blake heaved a sigh, lifting a hand up to rub her ribs.

"Fine. Let's just keep it simple in there, okay?"

"Simple is my middle name! Well, not really. It's actually-"

"Nora, let's go."

Blake led her inside where they joined the others at a large table.

It was a little awkward choosing seats now.

Typically, Nora would sit next to Ren and Blake would sit beside Yang. But now there were two empty seats open for them, flanked by Penny and Jaune.

Nonetheless, for the sake of the act, they sat there together, a bit further away from their best friends than they were used to.

But they were a couple now, right? So it was assumed the most attention they'd want and receive would come from one another.

It turned out being a bit of a rough night for the both of them.

They found themselves wanting to join in the conversations, but had to constantly monitor their speech and actions to make themselves appear affectionate towards one another.

When everyone's food arrived, Blake and Nora watched the others as they shared straws and drinks and stole little bites of each others' food and wiped lips with napkins or kisses.

Nora and Blake were hesitant, but eventually managed to put on the act with a few giggles and offers to take bites of each others' food.

When the check came, they paid for each others' meals as the rest of them did.

Somehow, they managed to survive the night.

But not before everyone left the restaurant together and shared goodnight hugs and kisses with their significant others.

All of the other pairs were going home together except for them.

Blake checked to make sure no one was watching them before she pulled Nora in an awkward hug.

"Well... we did our best," she mumbled.

"I think we did pretty okay!"

"But it could do with some improvement."

"Yeah, proooobably... But we can save that for next time!"

Nora's words reminded Blake that this little charade of theirs was supposed to persist. For how long, they didn't know. They hadn't exactly planned out very far ahead.

What was the purpose of this little act? To keep faking it until they truly found people they liked? But even if they should come across someone they were interested in, it would seem like they were cheating on each other.

Blake shook her head, not wanting to think about it.

 _This'll work out. Somehow..._

Their little hug lasted a few seconds longer, until Ren started calling out for Nora. The ginger-haired girl pulled back and sighed.

"Well, maybe we _were_ a biiiit sloppy for the first time, but we'll learn to plan stuff out better as we go! Don't sweat it!"

"Yeah..." Blake took a small step back. "You should get going."

"Mm yeah I should, huh? Well, not without _this!_ " Nora leaned up onto her tiptoes and pressed a small kiss to Blake's cheek. "There! Now if _that_ ain't believable, I dunno what is!"

And with that, she scampered off.

Blake was left with her jaw slack, watching her go, her fingers slowly reaching up to touch the spot where those soft lips had landed. By that point, Yang and the others had come over to her to wish her goodnight.

And as Blake drove herself home alone that night, she couldn't help but remember the feeling of Nora's lips.

* * *

From then on, Blake and Nora got into the swing of acting like a couple.

It required a bit of trial and error, and more than a few mishaps, but eventually, they became experts at their acting.

Whenever they were with the group or just a few of the others, Nora and Blake would stick close together, often holding hands and occasionally buying each other little gifts.

Sometimes, just the girls would go to the mall together. Pyrrha tended to stick with Yang and Weiss, while Penny and Ruby would go off together. Meaning Blake would be dragged to Nora's favorite sporting goods' store with its loud music, and Nora would be coaxed into Blake's quieter bookshops.

When the group went on movie dates, they'd sit side by side. Nora was the type to make comments all throughout the film, Blake discovered. But she was never too loud or obnoxious about it, and whatever she said always made Blake chuckle.

There even came a time when they decided to go to the park together with their friends.

While Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Ruby, Penny, and Jaune played a game of catch, Weiss and Ren were standing nearby, watching and making commentaries. Blake had chosen to sit on a bench and relax while watching them.

At some point, a male stranger a little older than herself had come by and rather intrusively invited himself to sit down right beside her and kick up a conversation. Blake could tell right away that he wasn't just being pleasant and had a flirtatious tone to his voice and mannerisms to his body.

He started talking to her, asking her rather personal information and questions she didn't care to answer. It quickly turned from casual conversation to an uncomfortable situation.

But Blake wasn't terribly confident in talking her way out of things, especially if it had the potential to become confrontational.

She was just about to stand up and run to her friends for help when a guardian angel appeared.

Well, sort of.

The ball her friends had been using for their game suddenly found itself smacking into the side of this man's head, causing him to fall off the bench. An angry shout followed it.

"Hey!"

Nora was glaring daggers from across the grass, her fingers balled into fists.

Blake was still so shocked by what had just happened that she was frozen in her seat. The guy groaned as he stood up, spitting curses and getting pissed. Blake's heart leapt into her throat, fearing his anger.

But she soon realized _he_ should have been the one to fear _Nora's_ anger.

The girl was now making her way over to the bench with purposeful, terrifying slowness.

"Listen, _buster_. You'd _better_ get the _hell_ away from my _girlfriend_ or else I'll nail you where the sun don't shine so hard your grandkittens will feel it. _Capiche?_ "

There was absolutely no room for doubt in her tone. She was ready to do just as she'd promised should he cause further problems.

Luckily for him, he seemed to get the message and ran off as soon as he could stand.

At that point, Blake could hear Yang and Ruby and Weiss calling out to her, asking if she was okay.

But Nora was the one who hurried over to the bench and sat beside her, pulling Blake into a hug without question.

This hug was... different from the rest. It was tight, but not crushing, warm, but not uncomfortable. And when she spoke, Nora's voice was a growl, but also somehow soft.

"Are you okay? I swear, I'll hunt him down and-"

"It's fine," Blake murmured. "Thanks, Nora. I really mean it."

Blake hugged her in return, releasing a shaky breath. Nora squeezed her a little tighter, just to be sure.

A moment later, she'd calmed down from her rage and made Blake an offer.

"Hey, how's about we go grab some ice cream? Just you and me! We can ditch these guys for a half hour or so. Whaddaya say?"

Blake found herself nodding even before she'd understood what Nora had asked.

"Yeah. Let's do that."

"You got it!"

Nora helped Blake to her feet, then declared to the others they'd be back in thirty minutes.

She and Blake indeed went to get ice cream – what Blake realized to be their first actual date alone in their fake dating. She forgot about the stranger within minutes, and focused on enjoying her time together with Nora.

After their little date, they returned to the others, only to part ways a while later.

And this time, it was Blake who kissed Nora's cheek.

* * *

She realized it that night.

That she'd actually fallen in love with Nora.

She couldn't believe it.

All of this was just supposed to be a little joke, something to pass the time and have fun with.

But as Blake reflected on all the times they'd shared, she realized she'd fallen for her a long time ago, but only just _consciously_ realized it now.

This was... a huge mess.

 _I don't believe it. It'll ruin everything. How could I let this happen...?_

She knew it wasn't actually something she could've hoped to control. But she still felt as though she should have put a bit of effort into fending it off.

She didn't want to lose Nora's friendship over this. She didn't want to lose any of it.

Maybe she could... just keep up the act. Just keep pretending to be her girlfriend, until someone more suited for Nora came along.

Then, maybe Blake could let her go, knowing Nora would be happier with them.

She'd do that.

That's what she decided...

...But when she next saw Nora, her plans fell apart.

* * *

A traveling carnival had come to town for the weekend, and it didn't take their group very long to decide to attend.

It was a warm evening when the nine of them stepped onto the bustling fairgrounds. The air was filled with the sounds of laughter and chatter, while the scents of popcorn and funnel cakes teased their noses.

The nine of them stayed together as they sauntered around the various tents and booths.

Blake kept close to Nora as per usual, though now the fact that she was holding her hand was getting to her, making her face maintain a constant warmth. Being aware of the feelings she'd developed wasn't doing well for keeping her cool.

They stopped by a water gun game, where Yang and Pyrrha declared they'd beat each other and win prizes for Weiss and Jaune respectively. But in the end, they both lost to Ren, who'd sat down at the last minute. He chose not to take a prize, however, and the two girls soon demanded rematches with one another.

Ruby and Penny spent some time at a dart balloon stand, where they each needed to hit a certain color of balloon. Ruby got a few of her red ones, but mostly missed. Penny, on the other hand, took up all of her darts and threw them all at once, and somehow managed to hit every green balloon on the board.

After that, Weiss took orders and treated them all to some food.

By that point in the night, the couples decided to explore on their own and meet back up at the gates at closing time.

Blake steeled herself for her time alone with Nora.

All the while, the hyperactive girl never seemed to notice Blake's hesitance tonight.

She pulled Blake into a maze of mirrors and kept making faces or poses that rendered Blake a victim to laughter.

Nora then brought her to a hammer game that would test her strength. She ended up sending the weight higher than anyone else with a powerful hit and winning. She presented Blake with a stuffed toy kitten.

Blake had assumed she would be uncomfortable and nervous all the while. But Nora made her as carefree and happy as ever, causing her to forget her fears and just enjoy herself.

Blake wanted to make it up to her somehow.

So as they were winding down and considering heading back to meet with the others, Blake made one last request.

"Hey, Nora? Do you think we could go on one ride?"

Her companion halted with a little bounce.

"Sure thing! Just say the name!"

Blake smiled shyly.

"Follow me."

She knew something like one of the mini roller coasters would probably be something more Nora's speed – literally.

But Blake had something a bit more personal in mind.

She led her across the grass until they arrived at the end of a short line, leading to the ferris wheel that had been set up.

Nora's eyes widened at the sight of the ride Blake had chosen. She knew it was mainly for romantic situations and was a bit puzzled as to why she'd chosen this over any other ride.

Flashing a puzzled look at Blake, Nora titled her head to one side, but Blake didn't meet her gaze.

For once, Nora didn't ask questions. She kept ahold of Blake's hand as they gradually made their way to the front of the line, feeling Blake occasionally squeeze her hand a little.

When at last they were permitted on, Blake took a seat and placed the little toy kitten in her lap, and Nora sat beside her.

The ride began to move with a soothing slowness, taking them up higher to view the fairgrounds now bathed in orange sunset.

Blake still hadn't said anything, so Nora tried to lighten the mood with comments about the view.

"Oh wooooww, it's so pretty! Hey, is that Ren aaaallll the way over there? Oh, hey, I can see all of 'em! It's like playing Where's Waldo or I Spy!"

As they climbed higher, Blake began to fidget. Nora had let go of her hand to hold onto the safety bar, but now, Blake mustered up the courage to reach out. She placed her hand over Nora's, a soft action that instantly gained her attention.

Blake kept her eyes downcast, trained on the little cat in her lap. She took in a deep breath, let it out, then found her voice.

"Nora...? I... I'm not really sure how to say it, but... but I wanted to tell you my honest feelings. Keeping them a secret would be unfair to you, I've realized..."

Nora turned her full attention to Blake now, rather reserved.

"What? Ya gotta crush on someone?"

She was only half-joking.

But to her surprise, Blake nodded.

"Yeah. Actually..." Blake bit her lip, but lifted her gaze to meet teal. "Nora, I... I really like you."

Nora blinked at her, stupefied.

"What? Oh, I know that silly! We are _dating_ after all!"

"No." Blake shook her head. "I don't mean it for our fake dating, Nora. I... I _really_ mean it. Honestly."

Nora was too shocked to think of anything else to say. Nervously, Blake stammered on.

"I mean... I never expected this to happen... for real... I was just going along with it like you'd said, just sort of... for the fun of it, you know? But along the way, I realized..." She paused again, looking down.

"You're really amazing, Nora. You're always so positive and energetic. I could always use some more of those things in my life. And there's so much more, too... I just wanted you to know so we could... stop all of this if you wanted to..."

It felt unfinished, but she couldn't think of any more to say. Timidly, Blake peered up at her, fearing the reaction.

But...

Nora wasn't disgusted or appalled as Blake thought she might be. In fact, she was smiling.

"Wow..." Nora mumbled. "Blake, you really mean all that stuff? Holy moley, I never thought anyone would say something like that to me!"

Blake wasn't sure what to make of the response. Her grip tightened on Nora's hand.

"I just... wanted to tell you... But you don't have to reciprocate..."

"But I _want_ to, silly!" Nora exclaimed. "Actually, I already _do!_ "

It was Blake's turn to be confused.

"Huh...?"

"Yeah! I mean, why didja think I came to _you_ of all people about this fake-dating stuff in the first place? I mean yeah, it was kinda because I wanted to join in and feel what the others were all feelin', but I went to _you_ , Blake! Cuz I always kinda thought you were pretty and interesting! We're a good match, ya know?"

Blake could hardly believe what she was hearing. Nora was...

"You're... you're saying you... feel the same way?"

She hoped she wasn't mistaken.

Luckily, Nora beamed a smile at her.

"Yeah! I do, Blake! I really do! Golly, I couldn't believe it when you confessed just now! I thought I was dreaming!"

Nora placed her other hand on top of Blake's. The dark-haired girl felt her chest swelling with excitement.

"I'm... not dreaming right now, am I? You really feel the same way?"

Nora hummed, bouncing a little in her seat. She leaned in and lowered her voice playfully.

"Want me to prove it to ya?"

Blake's heart skipped. Willingly, she closed her eyes.

She knew she shouldn't be expecting a sweet, soft kiss from Nora Valkyrie of all people, so she wasn't too surprised to feel a hard bump of lips against hers.

Blake could feel her smiling, and returned the gesture. Nora made it more of a smooch, pulling away with a sound of "Muwah!"

Blake giggled, then leaned in for another, softer peck.

She couldn't believe it.

The last time she'd set foot on the ground, she'd just been dating Nora in a guise.

But the _next_ time her feet touched the grass, she'd be dating her for _real_.

Wouldn't that be a story to tell the others?

Their hands entwined around the little kitten plush Nora had won for her, while their smiles overlapped sweetly.

There, at the top of the ferris wheel at sunset, Blake's wildest dreams came true, and Nora's did, too.

* * *

 **A/N: It was a bit of a challenge to write two characters who've barely (if ever) interacted in the canon together, but I hope I did well!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


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